In the web-marketing world, it seems to me that businesses are zeroed in on improving SEO, creating links, and developing their blog. This is great, but none of it matters if your site is built around poor webpage usability.

In short, webpage usability is the ease by which a page visitor can navigate, view, and absorb information on a website. If the user can’t read it, view it, or navigate through it, then they will undoubtedly leave the site.

Here are a few things to consider when developing your webpage usability:

Ugly sites get fewer views.

It doesn’t matter how great your content is, the average web user will choose a sleek, trendy design over the traditional plain text webpage. To prevent this from happening to your site try some of the following tips.

1. Keep you site updated. If your site hasn’t had a facelift for 2-5 years, you might want to consider some modifications. Change is good.
2. Use images. People become engaged with a good picture. They say a picture speaks a thousand words, so why don’t you have any on your site?
3. Don’t be the judge of your sites beauty. Your opinion will undoubtedly have a bias. Ask for feedback from your spouse, a friend, a random stranger, and a professional before you launch.

No one waits for pages to load

I know I just told you to make your site look nice with images and the works, and now I am going to tell you to reduce the load up time for your site. It’s tough, but no one is going to wait for your site to load especially when they can find the same information on the next guys website. Here are two simple ways to speed things up.

1. Optimize your images. You have control over how large your image sizes are. Most photo editing programs will let you reduce the file size. Web images should be 72 dpi. Anything greater will only slow down the load time.
2. Clean up your code. Useless code will slow the user down. Figure out what you do and do not need. If you have no experience web coding, have a professional take a look under the hood.

Everyone hates to get lost

I was on a site recently where the only way I could get back to the home page was by clicking the back button in the browser several times. Guess what I did…  I left the page. Consider these tips.

1.  Make it intuitive. We have all navigated hundreds of pages, and we know how a page should function, so make it natural.
2. Appropriate titles. Call home, home and about us, about us. Cute titles like “Call me” for your contact page might throw people off. Sure, creativity is fun, but if it compromises your navigation, leave it alone.
3. Less is more. Unless you have a really good reason, you should never have more then 8 menus items in your main navigation bar (even that could be too much). The famous apple corporation in all its industry grandeur has still managed to keep only 7 menus on their navigation bar.

Usability = Useful

The crowning success for webpage usability is when a page visitor takes away something from your site and uses it in their life. Every business is unique, so usefulness is relative, but here are a couple things everyone can do.

1.  Let visitors share. Social media has opened the door for information sharing. Make it easy for people to share your content.
2.  Make your information interactive. Find ways for people to get involved with your content (quizzes, games, demos, free trials, how to videos). possibilities are endless.

Starting this week, Google+ members will be able to search both the entire web, and their own Google+ social graph. This means all your Google+ posts, photos, and circles will be integrated into your search. This is something other social platforms, such as Facebook, can only dream of.

Google is calling this “your web”. Instead of just searching the web content which is available to everyone, you can also search through things that have been shared to you by not only Google’s social network, but Google’s other services like Picasa.

There are definitely some privacy concerns. To counter this, Google’s Search plus Your World only works if you’re signed into Google+ and searching on Google’s secure search at https://www.google.com. And, if you try and you don’t like it, Google is adding a toggle button to switch to good old fashioned Google search.

Here is a quick video demonstrating the new search.

Google plus your world

What do you guys think? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Brides to be have embraced the site, graphic designers, hand made artists, fashion designers and really anyone with goods and services that show well visually have found new sources of traffic via the site. Word is Pinterest has become the #1 source of traffic to Etsy.com.

There’s something very compelling about the visual aspect that has turned Pinterest browsing into somewhat of an addiction for brides, designers, foodies, students, and those in search of the latest trends.

Pinterest has enabled self-expression in a way that few other social networks have captured and in return has become one of the biggest sources of traffic to businesses that deal in visually oriented goods.

It is time for your business to start paying more attention to Pinterest.

Why? 

Engage Users: Pinterst users are keenly interested in what’s hot and what’s cool –  actions that transform well into the kind of influences marketers want to attract.

Link Building: images are some of the best links you can acquire when it comes to actual engagement. Pinterest images automatically link back to the page of the originating site so they create visual links.

SEO: Local links can be a gold mine. Smart marketers are embedding links into comments and descriptions.

Pinterest isn’t for everyone, but with the amount of users the site has… makes it pretty hard to ignore.

93% of online experiences begin with a search engine.

62% of search users click a link on the first page of search results.

42% of search users click the top-ranking link. 8% click the second-ranking link, and the click-through rate continues to drop thereafter.

Search Engine Optimization may seem overwhelming or difficult; some small companies may not think they will benefit from investing in SEO. Do these stats change your mind?

Here are 5 common web design mistakes you must avoid to create a great user experience and grow your bottom line.

1. Poor Navigation - A good navigation structure should be seamless and will keep visitors on your site longer.

2. No Clear Action Calls - Successful calls to action can help guide users and address their needs while achieving your own business goals.

3. Color and Contrast - Aside from plain readability, color and contrast are important because they can be used to create visual interest and direct the attention of the user. It’s essential to pay attention to during the design process.

4. Content, Content, Content -  A logical content hierarchy acts as a guide through each page and creates a more enjoyable user experience.

5. Clutter - Even the greatest content can become lost in a mess of words and graphics, so de-cluttering is key.

What other mistakes have you noticed on small business websites?

In essence, 8,500 people signed up for the Groupon offer, and her crew of eight had to try and make 102,000 cupcakes to meet the orders.

The owner lost $3 per batch because she had to hire 25 extra workers to help, and she ended up losing $20,000 because of this Groupon deal.

Groupon, BuyWithMe, LivingSocial, SocialBuy, Tippr and many other online social couponing companies are all the rage.

Even local coupon deals (Salt Lake City has KSL Deals, Go Deal Go, and others) are exploding in popularity.

Offering huge discounts, they have attracted many people and their growth and been exponential.

Branding Strategy Insider recently wrote on the dangers of social couponing (from a business perspective.)

They said:

“These social coupon sites promise high customer demand in return for a deep discount and a share of the deal. In August, Gap offered a nationwide deal of $50 worth of apparel for $25 through Groupon.  Some brands and businesses are offering social coupons directly, including ConAgra, Jack in the Box, and Walmart. However, the biggest participants have been small and mid-size businesses.

But tread carefully before you join the social coupon bandwagon. Running such deeply discounted deals can create a short term volume spike that backfires in the long run. There are plenty of cautionary tales from brands and businesses that didn’t do the math and regretted it.”

The BSI article shares that Entrepreneur Magazine recently profiled a Rice University study of 150 small to mid-size businesses that offered a social coupon deal with the following results: “while 66 percent of the 150 respondents said that their Groupon deal was profitable, a significant 32 percent found it unprofitable. And 40 percent of the respondents said they would not use Groupon again.”

Fluid Studio believes couponing is good to get people in the door; a “loss leader” to get them to try your business. However, you need to know your margins and the type of customer you will be bringing in your doors. If they don’t come back, think about the business repercussions.

Create a strategic plan and tactics to glean information to create a robust prospect/client database when these people come through your doors.

Fluid Studio recently worked with Bootcamp with Jess, a Utah fitness bootcamp franchise with multiple locations, on a social couponing campaign. They did quite well in numbers purchased (and probably broke even on what they sold). They filled many of their classes in less than 1 week. The true test is this: will those who finish their 6-week bootcamp sign on for another session at full price? If the answer is yes, their test of social couponing will be successful (and we will probably suggest they do it again).

The biggest thing to remember: the value of a brand is not made in one day or on a single sale. You can get them through the door once, but can you create a repeat customer? That is key.

Note: Image contributed by Tom Fishburne

We all know that marketing can be like wrestling with the bird at Thanksgiving.

It doesn’t have to be.

Need help with web, mobile apps, graphic design, SEO, and other marketing and advertising needs?

See what Fluid can do for you by clicking here.

Time off?

Check this out: rewards for top performers lead them to worse performance.

If you want to foster innovation, bonuses won’t work either.

On the flipside, it’s all about letting people strike out on projects they care about.

Check out the video below and let us know if you agree in the comments below.